Happiness is the Key
by The Red Maple Leaf
Summary: Happiness is key to everything. If you are not happy what is the point?


"Inuyasha!"

The inu-hanyou who was currently hidden from the modern girls view was sitting within the high branches of the God Tree, his golden eyes traveled until they were focused on the very distressed Kagome.

"How could you?" Kagome stared up into the branches of the God Tree, for she knew he was there; she then felt the tears that were slowly coming to her eyes. Inuyasha, realizing that he was smelling the all too familiar scent of salt coming from Kagome, jumped from the his branch and looked at the upset girl in front of him.

"Ka….Kagome? Please do…don't cry!" A desperate Inuyasha said as he quickly put his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace. Realization dawned on him at that moment; Kagome must have witnessed him talking to Kikiyo, yet again.

Kagome gasped; Inuyasha wasn't one to be so straight forward with his actions or emotions. He had witnessed her cry hundreds of times over the past three years, but only on a few rare occasions had he embraced her like this; she guessed that she was going to experience one of those rarities. Kagome sighed, "Inuyasha, listen; I just don't understand you at all! First you tell me that you won't go see Kikiyo anymore and when I turn my back, what do you do? You run off at the first sign that she's around! So don't you dare tell me not to cry!!"

"Kagome….."

"No." Kagome quickly pushed Inuyasha away from her and turned away from him. "I won't…I can't give into you anymore Inuyasha! Three years; for three years I've waited and been patient with you. You keep promising that you won't go to Kikiyo, but you never keep that promise, and I don't know why I even bother….you….your just going to go with Kikiyo to hell when this is all said and done! I'm going to be left alone, and never see you again. My feelings don't matter to you! All this time I've stuck by your side, knowing what was going to happen in the end, and you know what? I can't take it anymore; I can't take my heart breaking every time you go to see Kikiyo. I know that she was your first love and all….but Inuyasha…."

Inuyasha never got to hear what she was going to say next because Kagome had already left, and retreated for the well. Growling, he ran, and managed to catch up with her.

Kagome sighed and jumped into the well, but her feet never made it to the ground as she felt two arms wrap around her waist and pull her out of the well. She screamed, and tried with all her might to breakaway from the hanyou's arms as he held onto her tightly, bridal style.

"Inuyasha, let me go!"

"No," was the only reply she got before she felt him leap into the air and into a near by tree; he started jumping from tree to tree going in the opposite direction of the well and village. Kagome didn't know where they were going, but she did not care; she just wanted Inuyasha to put her down and let her go home to cry it out. She didn't want to be near him at the moment.

"Inuyasha let me go! If you don't I swear I'll say it!" Kagome threatened.

Inuyasha chuckled and said "You sit me and you'll go down with me wench!"

Kagome realizing the position she was in, and that Inuyasha was right, stop struggling in his arms and sighed.

"Inuyasha…."

"Kagome, listen to me; I'm not letting you go to your time to cry. We need to talk, and I want to be able to un-interrupted by anyone. You understand?"

Kagome nodded.

Inuyasha noticing this continued. "Good, then I'll tell ya right now that we're not going back for a while."

"What!"

"Kagome, you can sit me all you want. You can scream at me all you want, and you can run away from me all you want, but guess what? You ain't leaving my side for a while."

Inuyasha stared ahead in the distance. Kagome just looked at him and sighed; she wasn't going to argue with him, not when he was that determined and they were that high off the ground.

Inuyasha jumped from tree to tree for what seemed like hours until he finally came to a stop in front of a cave. Beside the cave was a bubbling stream, surrounded by thick forest. Kagome had no idea where they were or how far they were from the village.

Inuyasha released Kagome from his arms and gently place her on the ground beside him. He didn't look at her once as she continued to stare at him for a few moments.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Inuyasha asked.

"Why did you bring me here you idiot!? Why couldn't you just let me go home to my time and cry? Why couldn't you just leave me alone? I told you that I couldn't take anymore of this, but you still didn't listen to me and forced me to come with you!" Kagome could not hold back the tears any longer; she began to sob and dropped to her knees beside Inuyasha. He quickly knelt beside her crying form and took her chin into his fingers, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

She looked into the beautiful amber eyes that now pleaded with her.

"Kagome, listen…..I….I...I….didn't know what else to do! You were so upset with me, and when you didn't finish what you were trying to say to me and ran off I panicked!"

"Inuyasha don't you understand?" Kagome said in between sobs. "I know that you love Kikiyo and always will! I realize now that I have no place in your heart; you've always considered me a friend and your shard detector, nothing more! I just want you to leave me alone and let me stay in my time for awhile to cool down. I can't stand to be around you knowing how you really feel because it breaks my heart! I'll help you finish looking for the remaining three shards, but I need time to myself away from you in my time to heal from this….I need to move on. And then…..then once the jewel is complete and we purify it I'll go back to my time and never bother you again….you can be with Kikiyo without me being around to be in the way!" Inuyasha released her chin from his hand. She quickly looked away from him.

"Kagome," Inuyasha replied after digesting what he had just heard. _Does she really think that? Does she really think that she means nothing more to me than a just shard detector? Does she really think that I still want to be with…..Kikiyo after all we've been through? _

"Kagome…..that's not true." Inuyasha said to her as she still continued to stare away from him. "I….I don't just think of you as a shard detector! You idiot! How could you ever think that I don't care about you?" Kagome just continued to look away from him, not believing what she was hearing. Inuyasha, who was now getting impatient grabbed her chin again and turned her head so she was again, forced to look at him. Inuyasha didn't know what to do, but what he did next would later shock the hell out of him; he lowered his head to hers and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Kagome couldn't believe what he was doing. _Inuyasha….kissing me?_ She slowly closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.

Inuyasha regretfully stopped kissing her and pulled her into an embrace as he stared ahead at the cave.

Kagome was speechless; she didn't know what to say or do after what had just happened, Inuyasha had actually kissed her! Never in her wildest dreams did she believe he would ever want to kiss her. But what did this mean?

"Kagome, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you…..but there's something you gotta know."

Kagome slowly looked up at him and into his beautiful golden eyes; it was know close to evening as the sun began to set and the light shine in them, radiating his soft silver hair.

"I went to see Kikiyo this time to tell her that I cannot go to hell with her like I promised."

"What!?" Kagome said to him, clearly shocked. "Wha…..what….why have you changed your mind?"

"Because….I can't go to hell with her if I'm in love with another." Inuyasha stated, still staring into her exquisite chocolate-brown eyes.

Kagome gasped. She didn't believe what she was hearing_; did he really just say….tha…that he's in love with some one besides Kikiyo? Does he mean he loves me?_

When Kagome didn't answer, Inuyasha did the only thing he could think of; he kissed her again. Kagome closed her eyes and returned the kiss. For what seemed like forever they stayed like that, in each others embrace, kissing one another lovingly. Inuyasha finally broke off the kiss and decided it was time she knew.

"Kagome, I love you."

* * *

Inuyasha slowly put another piece of wood on the fire as it continued to burn; it was not deep into the night, and the only source of light came from the fire that gently burned in the entrance to the small cave. Inuyasha's gaze turned towards the direction of the sleeping form that was about six feet from his position by the fire.

Kagome was peaceful sleeping on a make-shift bed of leaves and other earthly things that Inuyasha had made for her. He didn't expect her to just sleep on the dirt floor of the cave, so he did the next best thing to an actual futon he could make for her. It had been nearly ten hours since she first heard his confession, and now was sleeping away the exhaustion of the day's events. Inuyasha still couldn't believe that he had finally admitted his deepest secret to the one he cared for the most; he remembered her reaction clearly in his mind: she had just looked at him for the longest while dumbfounded, however just as Inuyasha was about to pull away from her thinking that she was rejecting him, she had thrown her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep, and passionate kiss. Then she had pulled her lips from his and said:

"_Thank you Inuyasha."_

"……_.."_

"_I….I….needed to hear that, even thought I can't believe you said it. God! I love you too! I've always loved you! No one else has held my heart since the day I turned 15, the day I met you and freed you from that arrow." _

"_Wha….what do you mean since the moment you freed me from the arrow?"_

"_Inuyasha, I mean it was love at first sight; it took me a while to realize it, but yeah I loved you from the first moment I laid my eyes on you!"_

Inuyasha thought of her words and smiled, she really does love me……the filthy and undeserving hanyou that is actually loved by someone as sweet and innocent as Kagome. Now there was something he would never be able to comprehend; how on earth did someone like Kagome fall in love with him? Inuyasha couldn't believe it, because he was so used to rejection and pain in his life. The only other person to love him was his mother and sadly she was taken from him at such a young age, the poor hanyou was left alone in this world and no wonder he turned out the way he did. Who wouldn't who has been through what he had. He always thought that he would be alone, rejected, and never wanted by anyone; just forever alone.

The inu-hanyou smiled and made his way to her side on her make-shift bed. He lied down beside her and gently held her form. The girl let a content sigh in her sleep and Inuyasha slowly starting to drift off into a peaceful rest, for he was holding an angel in his arms and knew that he was never be alone again; this girl loved him and wanted to be by his side. _So this is what it feels like to be happy….._


End file.
